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Useful Counselling Resources
Podcasts
Mentally Yours
https://open.spotify.com/show/6qCGowS3fs0qFYMlxczxC5?si=MC8YCySSS_iKodO6Mdg8ow
By Metro.co.uk. A weekly mental health podcast from Metro. Ellen Scott and Yvette Caster chat to people who have lived with mental illness, from shop workers to celebrities, to educate, empathise and challenge stigma.
Griefcast
Griefcast is a podcast that examines the human experience of grief and death - but with comedians, so it’s cheerier than it sounds. Griefcast won three Gold prizes at the British Podcast Awards 2018 (Best Entertainment Podcast, Best Interview Podcast, and Podcast of the Year 2018). It also won Podcast of the Year 2018 at the UK ARIA’s.
Sons of Anxiety
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p08ph7lb
Stew Kingscott and Justyn Surrall open up about their own battles with stress, depression and anxiety as they team up with psychologist Dr Ben Rogers to investigate why men struggle to talk to each other about their mental health…..and what happens when they do.
Archewell Audio
https://open.spotify.com/show/7kz7cRLYAcPiWxqiKw1nlG?si=3bSOBKRiTRm4JimOd5gZjQ
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle try "interviews without the interviewing" – talking to a variety of people regarding their struggles with mental health, self-help tools, and further worldly topics.
Happy Place - Fearne Cotton
https://www.officialfearnecotton.com/news/2018/2/26/happy-place-podcast
Fearne Cotton has managed to round up a fantastic array of guests for her podcast series about mental health including Dawn French, Stephen Fry, author Matt Haig and Olympic diver Tom Daley. The tone of the podcast is sometimes light-hearted and often moving as the celebrities open up about mental health issues they’ve faced.
Apps
Insight Timer - free meditation app
Mood Meter - gain insights about your mood throughout the day
Headspace - mindfulness app
Medito - mindfulness and meditation app
Reading Material
John Roedel - Poem - How to live with my body
A beautiful poem about the work of inner congruence
https://www.johnroedel.com/post/how-to-live-with-my-body
The Invisible String
A bestselling picture book phenomenon about the unbreakable connections between loved ones has healed a generation of readers - children and adults alike. A great resource for anyone who has been bereaved.
Joan Didion : The Year of Magical Thinking
A book for the bereaved, that will speak to anyone who has ever loved a husband or wife or child. A stunning book of electric honesty and passion.
Ethan Kross - Chatter : The Voice in Our Head and How to Harness It
Tell a stranger that you talk to yourself, and you're likely to get written off as eccentric. But the truth is that we all have a voice in our head. Our inner voice helps steer us towards our goals, avoid mistakes and reflect on happy moments. Yet just as quickly it can become our enemy, chewing over our mis-steps and replaying our daily embarrassments. Before we know it, our thoughts are being hijacked by constant, negative ‘chatter’.
So how does this inner voice, so powerful and wise, turn into our biggest critic? And how can we take back control?
Greg McKeown - Effortless: Make it Easier to do what Matters Most
The intricacy of modern life has created a false dichotomy between things that are 'hard and important,' and those that are 'easy and trivial.' In Effortless, Greg offers practical strategies for making the most vital tasks the easiest ones. Honed over the better part of a decade.
Aster - Five Minutes in the Morning: A Focus Journal
What if five minutes could change your routine and change your day? What if you checked in with how you are feeling for just those few minutes, maybe sitting down over that cup of coffee or tea, or quietly sitting by the window before you head towards the shower? All it takes is five minutes in the morning with this beautifully illustrated journal.
Writing things down has been shown to help people more successfully achieve their dreams and goals. It is a way to help us focus on what matters, prioritise what we are going to do for the day ahead and track our progress. Five Minutes in the Morning offers a beautiful space and creative exercises to encourage reflection and intention setting at the start of the day.
Russ Harris - The 'Illustrated' Happiness Trap
Offers advice for living a richer, more meaningful life by letting go of the idea that we are always supposed to be happy, with the help of a self-administered acceptance and commitment therapy.
Cathy Rentzenbrink - A Manual for Heartache
Cathy Rentzenbrink describes how she learnt to live with grief and loss and find joy in the world again. Uplifting and soothing, this book offers solidarity to anyone going through loss, leaving them reassured of the light at the end of the tunnel.
MIND - Take a Moment: Activities to Refocus, Recentre and Relax Wherever You Are
A practical and accessible guide to self care, Take a Moment offers support with actionable steps and short, easy to follow self care techniques. A must-have for anyone looking to find a moment of calm in the craziness of today's world.
Aaron Gillies - How To Survive the End of the World (When It's in Your Own Head)
Although at times like these it might currently feel like the end of the world, sufferers from anxiety wake up with that feeling daily. Examining the impact of anxiety, Aaron Gillies also provides readers with tools to fight back in this hilarious and moving guide.
Nicole LePera - How To Do The Work
As a clinical psychologist, Dr Nicole LePera found herself frustrated by the limitations of traditional psychotherapy. Wanting more for her patients - and for herself - she began a journey to develop a united philosophy of mental, physical and spiritual health that equips people with the tools necessary to heal themselves. After experiencing the life-changing results herself, she began to share what she'd learned with others - and The Holistic Psychologist was born.
Glennon Doyle - Untamed
In her most revealing and powerful memoir yet, the activist, speaker, bestselling author, and "patron saint of female empowerment" (People) explores the joy and peace we discover when we stop striving to meet others' expectations and start trusting the voice deep within us.
Richard Carlson - Stop Thinking, Start Living: Discover Lifelong Happiness
In this indispensable handbook, Richard Carlson demonstrates how we can change everything in our lives – earn more money, meet new friends, get a new job – yet still feel dissatisfied. Happiness, he says, is not 'out there' but within, a state of mind that is independent of circumstance: 'If you begin to see that your thoughts are not the real thing – they're just thoughts and as thoughts they can't hurt you – your entire life will begin to change today.'
Claire Eastham - We're All Mad Here: The No-Nonsense Guide to Living with Social Anxiety
Anxiety is a crafty shapeshifter that can take on many forms: the tiger that sinks its claws in with physical symptoms and distressing thoughts, the cruel and belittling bully creating insecurity and self-doubt and, worst of all, the frenemy rewarding avoidance of social situations with no physical symptoms, no cruel thoughts... and no life beyond your sofa!
Olivia Sagan - The Recovery Letters: Addressed to People Experiencing Depression
In 2012, The Recovery Letters was launched to host a series of letters online written by people recovering from depression, addressed to those currently affected by a mental health condition. Addressed to 'Dear You', the inspirational and heartfelt letters provided hope and support to those experiencing depression and were testament that recovery was possible.
This powerful collection of personal letters from people with first-hand experiences of depression will serve as a comforting resource for anyone on the journey to recovery.
The Wellness Society - Coronavirus Anxiety Workbook
A really useful workbook to provide support for anyone struggling with anxiety due to Covid19
Fearne Cotton - Happy, Calm & Quiet
These three books also tie in with her Journals (named the same) to work on daily reflection for anxiety, depression and improving self-esteem.
Dr Emma Hepburn – A Toolkit for Modern Life
This book is filled with practical tools for taking care of your mental health, self-care, and self-esteem.
Dr Sarah Edelman – Change Your Thinking with CBT:
Overcome Stress, Combat Anxiety and Improve your Life
All of us experience complicated thoughts and feelings as we negotiate the day and these feelings can be difficult to manage. Sometimes we are aware that the way we think contributes to our difficulties, but don't know what to do about it
Matt Haig – The Comfort Book
It is a strange paradox, that many of the clearest, most comforting life lessons are learned while we are at our lowest. But then we never think about food more than when we are hungry and we never think about life rafts more than when we are thrown overboard. A great book, for anyone struggling with depression or anxiety.
The Comfort Book is a collection of consolations learned in hard times and suggestions for making the bad days better.
Jeffrey E Young - Reinventing your Life (and feel great again)
Offering an innovative approach to solving long term emotional problems, based on the proven principles of cognitive therapy. This guide shows how to effectively change negative thought patterns.
Catherine Price - How to break up with your phone
It's the first thing you reach for when you wake, it's the last thing you see before you sleep. Explores the addiction around phones, and provides an easy to follow plan to help you conquer your phone addiction in 30 days.
Videos & Films
Nightmares - self-help video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WtZKo-0fFo&feature=emb_logo
Black dog of Depression
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiCrniLQGYc
At its worst, depression can be a frightening, debilitating condition. Millions of people around the world live with depression. Many of these individuals and their families are afraid to talk about their struggles, and don't know where to turn for help. However, depression is largely preventable and treatable. Recognizing depression and seeking help is the first and most critical towards recovery.
Three Identical Strangers
What makes us? Nature or nurture? - The vital point that affects the current nature-nurture debate and which is outlined in Three Identical Strangers (2018 Documentary) is the seemingly intense impact of genetic influences on Eddy, Robert and David. When they were reunited, they not only looked like doppelgangers, they displayed an uncanny number of shared habits.
The Holistic Psychologist
https://www.youtube.com/c/TheHolisticPsychologist/videos
As a clinical psychologist, Dr. Nicole LePera often found herself frustrated by the limitations of traditional psychotherapy. Wanting more for her patients—and for herself—she began a journey to develop a united philosophy of mental, physical and spiritual wellness that equips people with the interdisciplinary tools necessary to heal themselves. The Holistic Psychologist Youtube channel has a variety of videos assisting in a range of presenting issues.
Websites & Articles
Active solutions to prevent the practical act of suicide
"We must accept that anxiety and depression are as much a part of us as any other aspect of our being – we must not shy away from talking openly about them."
For anyone experiencing suicidal ideations
"If you’re struggling and you’re not sure if you want to live or die, can you, just for now hold off making this decision and keep reading and watching the videos for some ideas about how to get through. There may be things that you - and other people - can do to make things better."
To help prepare for a doctors appointment
https://www.docready.org/#/home
"We know it can be difficult to talk about mental health and especially hard to talk to people or ask for help. We’ve put together some tools that will help you prepare for the first time you visit a doctor to discuss your mental health."
Don't forget to check out our Pinterest account for more resources
across a range of presenting issues
